After an 18-year career with the acclaimed studio, The Last of Us and Uncharted 4 co-director Bruce Straley has announced he will be leaving Naughty Dog.

Having a hand in several of the studio’s (and gaming’s) most acclaimed titles of the past decade, Naughty Dog’s Bruce Straley has had a storied history and career with the iconic game studio, with Straley having announced that his time with the company is coming to an end.

In a blog post on the company’s website, Bruce Straley has announced that he is leaving Naughty Dog after 18 years with the company in a variety of roles and positions of leadership, including serving as an artist on the Jak and Daxter series, co-art director on Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and serving as co-director on The Last of Us (and its “Left Behind” expansion), Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Straley stated in the post that “this has been the hardest decision of my career,” and called Naughty Dog “home,” saying that he has “learned and grown so much from working with this incredible team.”

However, Straley explained that “after heading up three extremely demanding projects, and taking some extended time away from the office, I found my energy focusing in other directions, and I slowly realized this was the signal that it’s time to move on.”

After delving into his history with the company — in which he first started out as a texture artist on Crash Team Racing — Straley expressed that “I’m leaving Naughty Dog with the strongest team it’s ever had, and that’s saying a lot,” adding that “I’m so proud to have been a part of this team. I can’t wait to see what they create in the future.”

While Straley provided thanks to numerous Naughty Dog leaders and creatives like Neil Druckmann and Amy Hennig during his time with the company, Straley also added a thanks to the company’s fans, as he said that “knowing I was part of creating something that touched or moved any of you made this whole thing worthwhile.”

Straley didn’t provide exact details yet of what he will be doing or where he will be going in the future, but expressed that he will “continue the journey into the creative process,” and that he will “look forward to the discovery and sharing it all with you soon.”

It's been an honor & a joy to be a part of this amazing team, but today it's time to say goodbye. Thx Naughty Dog! https://t.co/VOnMumuw2M

Ryan is the Features Editor at DualShockers, with over five years' experience in the world of video games culture and writing. He holds a BA in English & Cinema from Binghamton University, and lives in New York City.